OECD Development Assistance Peer Reviews: Netherlands 2011 [electronic resource] /
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentContributor
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentContent Provider
Paris : OECD Publishing,
2013.
Every four years, each of the 24 members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Programme as observers is scrutinised by its peers in the Committee. Five different member countries are peer reviewed each year. The aim is to assess the extent to which the development policies, strategies and activities of the reviewed country meet the standards set by the DAC. Members provide constructive criticism and recommendations based on a report that touches on aid policies, volumes, institutions and field operations. There are no sanctions if the country fails to take the recommendations on board. The exercise is meant to encourage positive change, support mutual learning and raise the overall effectiveness of aid throughout the donor community.
Acronyms The DAC’s main findings and recommendations Secretariat Report Chapter 1. Strategic orientations -Progress in implementing the recommendations of the last peer review -A good reputation and strong foundations -Reforming Dutch development policy -An opportunity to reform all Dutch aid delivery channels -Bilateral channel: halving the number of partner countries -The multilateral system: giving strong and strategic support -Civil society: the need for a fresh look -Risk of combining private sector development with promoting Dutch commercial interests -A more strategic approach is needed for mainstreaming cross-cutting issues -Towards better accountability: developing a public communication and awareness strategy -Future considerations Chapter 2. Development beyond aid -Progress in implementing the recommendation of the last peer review -A long-standing commitment to policy coherence for development -Strengthening the Dutch approach further -Progress in monitoring, analysing and reporting policy coherence for development -Progress in using whole-of-government approaches -Investing time, energy and resources to make whole-of-government approaches work -Good progress with inter-ministerial co-operation in fragile states -Looking forward: the "beyond aid" agenda for the whole Dutch government -Future considerations Chapter 3. Aid volumes, channels and allocations -Progress in implementing the recommendations of the last peer review -Continuing high levels of Dutch ODA -A consolidated system -Dealing with budget cuts -Building on the strengths of the system -Managing a narrower bilateral focus -The Netherlands should sharpen the focus of its civil society programmes -Reforming the enterprise channel -Composition of the Netherlands’ bilateral ODA -The Netherlands faces a major challenge to grow its programmes in the new thematic areas -Keeping cross-cutting issues high on the agenda -The Netherlands should maintain its contribution to the multilateral system -Non-ODA flows -Future considerations Chapter 4. Organisation and management -Progress in implementing the recommendations of the last peer review -An integrated ministry adjusting to change -Managing and communicating about the changes ahead will be vital -Strengthening the links between field and headquarters -Improving field – headquarters linkages for knowledge sharing and coherent management -The need to create a "learning" and results-orientated organisation and to make better use of evaluations and other evidence -Re-focusing planning and monitoring in order to understand and learn more from results -Making use of a strong base of evidence from evaluations -Ongoing efforts to improve overall knowledge management -Increasing the availability of information on Dutch aid -Getting the most out of the ministry’s human resources and expertise -Future considerations Chapter 5. Aid effectiveness and results -Progress in implementing the recommendations of the last peer review -A strong commitment to making development co-operation more effective -From commitment to practice: a solid performance and identifying barriers to progress -Aid effectiveness beyond bilateral ODA -Progress on ownership and supporting partner country capacity -Success in untying Dutch aid and the link with ownership and effectiveness -Making more use of partner country systems -The predictability challenge -Generally a champion for harmonisation, but some un-co-ordinated decisions -Doing more to manage for development results and improve accountability -New policy shifts: opportunities and challenges for more effective Dutch aid -Maintaining and building on what works well -The need to implement new policies in accordance with the aid effectiveness principles -Future considerations Chapter 6. Humanitarian assistance -Little progress in implementing the recommendations of the previous peer review -Formalising policy: now an urgent priority -A clear need to anchor the Netherlands’ strategy in a cross-government policy framework -Opportunities for supporting recovery more consistently -A renewed focus on disaster risk reduction in the humanitarian team -Partnership: supporting system-wide reform, stronger leadership and co-ordination -Do allocations match Dutch global ambitions? -Operational mechanisms: some opportunities to deliver even more effectively -A clear mandate for humanitarian assistance would sharpen cross-government co-ordination -Building on good practice to become even more efficient -Future considerations Annex A. Progress since the 2006 recommendations Annex B. OECD/DAC standard suite of tables Annex C. Field visit to Tanzania Annex D. Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs organigramme Description of key terms Bibliography
Every four years, each of the 24 members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) with the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Development Programme as observers is scrutinised by its peers in the Committee. Five different member countries are peer reviewed each year. The aim is to assess the extent to which the development policies, strategies and activities of the reviewed country meet the standards set by the DAC. Members provide constructive criticism and recommendations based on a report that touches on aid policies, volumes, institutions and field operations. There are no sanctions if the country fails to take the recommendations on board. The exercise is meant to encourage positive change, support mutual learning and raise the overall effectiveness of aid throughout the donor community.
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